Middle East carrier, Emirates Airlines said it will be operating two evacuation flights for stranded Nigerians from Dubai to Abuja and Lagos.
The airline said it will commence the evacuation from the 19th and 22nd June 2020.
Emirates in a statement to its trade partners in Nigeria said first flight with registration number EK785 will leave Dubai for at 10: 59hrs and arrive the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 14: 55hrs, with a return flight to Dubai with only United Arab Emirates nationals and UAE residents the next day.
It stated that the second flight from Dubai to Nigeria will be to Lagos on the 22nd departing at 10:20hrs and arriving at 15:00hrs.
The airline said all passengers are expected to present required travel documents to include, confirmed ticket, valid passport, valid UAE residence permit and clearance document from UAE Ministry.
It stated that passengers arriving Dubai are expected to go on a 14 day self-quarantine at home or 14 day hotel quarantine package (at pax expense).
“Kindly be advised that flights from Lagos/Abuja to Dubai are open for sale on through our usual distribution channels such as Emirates Offices, Travels Agents and our website Emirates.com
“Passengers currently holding valid tickets will be accepted on these flights without penalty fees and additional fare collection. “
In a related development, the airlines stated that it is ready to resume operations to Nigeria as soon as the directive to that effect is given by the Federal Government. The Regional Manager, West Africa, Afzal Parambil, disclosed this in a chat with Daily Trust, saying once the approval was given the airline was ready to serve the Nigerian market.
According to a Daily Trust report Emirates Airlines official said once the green light was received to start operations, the airline would commence flights.
Emirates, one of the major airlines flying to Nigeria, had yesterday (June 15) commenced passenger flights to 29 cities across its network after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government lifted restrictions on transit passenger services.
The cities are those countries where restrictions have been lifted. The airline said with travel restrictions remaining in place in most countries, customers should check entry and exit requirements before their journeys.
Some of the cities where flights resumed yesterday include Bahrain, Manchester, Zurich, Vienna, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, New York JFK, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Taipei, Hong Kong, Perth and Brisbane.
Emirates had earlier on June 8, started flights from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad for travellers from Pakistan who wished to connect onwards to other Emirates destinations. The airline said it would continue to work with UAE authorities to take a measured and phased approach to flights resumption and rebuilding connections between Dubai and the world.
